Monday, September 22, 2008

Just In From "The Hill"...Lobbyist Trying To FUCK HURTING MIDDLE CLASS

Just in from "The Hill" a disturbing news item. We all knew that the lobbyists would be combing the halls of Congress on behalf of their clients, trying to shape the Bailout, control who got what, and who gets tossed to the cutting room floor...well, lobbyist are trying to once again cut out the middleclass, punish those who have been hurt most in this mess...anyone holding a mortgage! Call your elected officials in Washington, DC now and tell them no help for the middleclass, no BAILOUT!

Lobbyists seek change to language

By Jim Snyder

Posted: 09/22/08 08:03 PM [ET]

Lobbying on the rescue plan for Wall Street intensified Monday as the package moved to Congress, giving advocates another avenue to alter the language in ways favorable to their clients.

Up to now, the actions to stem the financial calamity on Wall Street have been carried out by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, with little involvement from Capitol Hill.

But the $700 billion plan to purchase bad debt from financial institutions and unclog credit markets requires Congress to act. The Bush administration urged lawmakers to pass a clean bill, but now there are more viewpoints that have to be considered.

Some Democrats already indicated the package may not pass until next week — news that sent stock prices tumbling and stressed some business lobbyists.

“If we don’t move quickly, we could be in the soup,” said Bruce Josten, the chief lobbyist of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Complicating lobbyists’ efforts was the difficulty of keeping track of all the various counterproposals to the administration’s bill.

One financial services lobbyist said his group was keeping a flow chart to try to keep track of who on Capitol Hill was pushing what.

“It ebbs and flows,” the lobbyist said. “It literally changes by the hour.”

One congressional reaction that emerged — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) response to the rescue package — wasn’t favorable to many of K Street’s banking clients, who oppose one provision in particular: giving bankruptcy judges the power to lower mortgages for distressed homeowners.

“We are vigorously opposing that,” said Steve Verdier, a lobbyist for the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA). “If that happens, then the mortgage rates for other consumers are going to go up.”